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A look back at Arsenal's best opening day performances in the Premier League By Josh Graham There are fewer than ten days to go until Arsenal kick-off the new Premier League season with their first ever visit to top flight new boys Brentford’s Community Stadium. The latest London side to grace the Premier League host the Gunners on Friday August 13, so we thought we’d have a look back at Arsenal’s best performances on the opening day of the season in years gone by. 2020/21, 3-0 v Fulham Last year began swimmingly for Mikel Arteta with another London derby against a promoted side, this time away at Craven Cottage against Scott Parker’s Fulham. Gabriel starred on his debut in the heart of the defence and even Arteta was surprised at how good his £23million summer signing was, given he had not played since March after the suspension of Ligue 1 amid the pandemic. Willian, who had just signed from Chelsea, dazzled on the wing with two assists in his first game but Gooners will know the ...

Ranking Arsenal's last five summer transfer windows As we prepare for another summer of rumours, half-truths and actual signings, one thing is for sure - this is a big transfer window for Arsenal. It feels like something we've said on countless occasions in recent years, however, and more often than not they haven't gone exactly to plan. Whether it's big-money signings backfiring, scraping around in the bargain bucket or failing to offload high earners, recent transfer windows have been a mixed bag for the Gunners. Here's how we've graded the last five, including some names you might rather have forgotten… January 2021 - B Let's start with the most recent window, which was mostly notable for those who headed out the door. Mesut Ozil finally departed by mutual consent after an absence which dominated headlines for the first half of the season and proved an off-field distraction amid on-field woes. His equally ineffective compatriot Shkodran Mustafi also went,...

Good business? Ranking all of Arsenal’s 2020/21 season transfers By Josh Graham Now the season has ended it is time to rank Mikel Arteta’s business in the transfer market from both the windows last summer and in January.  Thomas Partey 6/10 It was finally Partey time on deadline day at the end of last summer’s delayed transfer window. Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey arrived from Atletico Madrid for £45million with big expectations after some impressive engine room displays in La Liga. Much like the team as a whole, there have been glimpses of the real quality Partey can bring to the side but overall he has failed to live up to the hype in his first Premier League campaign. The 27-year-old has battled with injury and if he can string a run of games together next season is sure to become a fans favourite and help boss games in the middle for Arteta. Gabriel Magalhaes 6/10 Another man who arrived to much fanfare, centre-back Gabriel rocked up at the Emirates for £23.5m after Gunners...

Arsenal's end of season awards 2020/21 By Josh Graham Just like that and the season is nearly over.  And what a joy it is that 10,0000 lucky Arsenal fans will be there to see it in person when Mikel Arteta's side host Brighton on Sunday at the Emirates.  Less joyful, however, is the prospect of failing to qualify for any form of European football for the first time in 25 years.  With Champions League and Europa League dreams already dashed, Arsenal's sole hope lies in Uefa's new third-tier Europa Conference League, but chances are still slim with a win against the Seagulls plus defeats for Spurs against Leicester and Everton against Manchester City still required.  There is a saving grace in that Sunday could mark the first St Totteringham's day since 2016 - where gleeful Gooners toast finishing above North London rivals Tottenham - with Spurs in seventh place one point ahead of Arsenal in ninth.  But now is the time to reflect on a season that took Arsenal to t...

Has the international break effected who Mikel Arteta will pick for Arsenal's Premier League trip to Liverpool on Saturday? By Adam Le Roux As ever, clubs will start welcoming their star players back from the international break and try to assess the damage, with plenty of bumps and bruises picked up from clashes all over the world in the past week. Arsenal are no exception to that, with Mikel Arteta welcoming back his prized assets ahead of Saturday’s clash with reigning Premier League champions Liverpool at the Emirates. But not everyone seems to have escaped from their globe-trotting antics unscathed, so just how much will the Spaniard be forced to shuffle his pack ahead of the meeting with the Reds? Could Saka and Smith Rowe be a no show? The international break was a momentous one for Emile Smith Rowe, with the Arsenal academy graduate making his first start for England under-21s at the FIFA U21 EURO 2021 in Slovenia. But that experience was made bitter-sweet in a number of wa...

Welcome back Willian! The turnaround of the Brazilian star By Peter White In the midst of what has been a largely underwhelming season from an Arsenal perspective, it’s fair to say that the last week or so has been much more like it.   Following a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City, the Gunners sealed their place in the Europa League last 16 with victory over Benfica last Thursday, subsequently keeping their hopes of a continental adventure next year alive.   Skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second goal three minutes from time in the second leg sealed a 3-2 win over the Portuguese giants in Athens, to set up a mouth-watering clash against old foes Olympiakos in which a quarter-final place will be at stake.   Then, back on domestic duty at the weekend, a much-changed Arsenal outfit came from behind to topple third-placed Leicester City on their own turf, with David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe goals e...

                                            Mid-season report card: Who's near the top and who's been a flop for Arsenal in the Premier League this season? By Adam Le Roux We’re over halfway through the Premier League season, and for Arsenal it has been a campaign full of ups and (mainly) downs, with the Gunners sitting 11th in the table after 23 matches played. Mikel Arteta’s side have had their woes at both ends of the pitch since the 2020/21 season got underway back in September, with a dawdling defence and misfiring frontline contributing to a below-par performance to date. But individually, there have been some reasons to be cheerful this campaign, with a number of players performing solidly when they take to the field, so it hasn’t been all doom and gloom around the Emirates. Here we take our first look at just who has impressed in this weird and wacky season, and who has ...

                                        Assessing Arsenal's attack: Who should Mikel Arteta be starting up front for the Gunners in the Premier League By Adam Le Roux We are now halfway through the Premier League season, and Arsenal fans are still scratching their heads about who Mikel Arteta will be playing up front week after week. Will it be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, will it be Alexandre Lacazette? Will Eddie Nketiah or Emile Smith Rowe be given a go? What about Willian? What is Willian? Whatever. The mark of a successful team is to have the nucleus of a squad that you can rely on week in, week out, but with all the chopping and changing in the Arsenal ranks at the moment it has been impossible to pin down a reliable trio to spearhead the Gunners’ attack. And those issues have been represented in the numbers, with Arteta’s side finding the back of the net just 23 times in their 19 Pre...

Was Signing Willian a Mistake? By Fabio Duarte As we approach the half-way stage of the season, the phrase ‘too early to say’ is beginning to lose some of its credibility. With just a matter of weeks left until the new year, it’s perhaps time to make an early assessment on the signing of Willian. The Brazilian international’s arrival was generally seen as a coup. Willian was undoubtedly one of Chelsea’s top performers during the back-end of the 2019/20 campaign, yet turned down a contract from the Blues to make the switch to North London. There were mixed opinions in both camps. The prevailing view from Chelsea fans was that Arsenal were handing out a bumper contract to a soon-to-be declining squad player. Meanwhile, the general outlook from Arsenal supporters was that the deal would weaken their rivals whilst adding much-needed quality in wide positions. Three months on and one side’s assessment has grown considerably stronger…but is this likely to change, and ultimately, was signing ...

Mikel Arteta lambasts "unacceptable" Nicolas Pepe headbutt as Arsenal cling on for Premier League point at Leeds United By Charlie Bennett Mikel Arteta branded Nicolas Pepe’s headbutt as “unacceptable” after the Arsenal forward was sent off for violent conduct during the Gunners’ 0-0 draw with Leeds on Sunday.  The club-record signing was handed a rare start at Elland Road but struggled to make an impact before losing his cool and thrusting his head at Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski.  The referee consulted VAR and sent Pepe packing in the early in the second half, forcing the Gunners to cling on for a point.  "It is unacceptable. Unacceptable. At this level you cannot do it," he said.  "It is a point. I am never happy with a draw but considering the circumstances it is one we take and move on. “I will deal with the player. On those moments, you can use the excuse that someone has thrown the game away, or you can react and show resilience, ambition and character and beli...

How to solve a problem like Willian? Arsenal's Brazilian enigma By Adam Le Roux Will he? Won’t he? Willian… the constant enigma.  There were mixed feelings when the Brazilian walked through the doors of the Emirates back in the summer, as the winger went from one end of London to the other after a move from Chelsea.  At 32 years old, there were questions from some about the length of his contract, with a three-year-deal said to be too much for a man coming towards the end of his career.  But on the other hand, we have all seen the talent he possesses, with the Gunners often being on the wrong end of his weaving runs and technical prowess.  And after flying out the blocks in his Premier League debut against Fulham – a match where he set up all three goals in a 3-0 victory – it looked like he could replicate what he accomplished in a blue shirt at Stamford Bridge for the last seven years.  Failing to make an impact But eight appearances later, Willian is still yet...